Improvement in combined horse-rake and hat-spreader



@with tat-25 aient @ffice CHA RLES ROGERS, OF BAKKER, NEWT YORK.

Lett/'rs Poten lilo. 69,487, dated October 1 1857 IMPROVEMENT IN GOMBINEID HORSE-RAKE AND HAY-SPREADER.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ROGERS, of Barker, in the county of Broome, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements inV Combined Hay-Rakes and Tedders; and l do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a portion of this specification, in-which- Figure-l is a longitudinal vertical section of a combined rake and tedder, constructed according to my invention, showing the machine as adapted for use as a horse-rake.

Figure 2 is a side View of the same as used for a tedder.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the same, showing the position of the several parts when used either as a rake ortedder.

Similar letters of reference'indicnte corresponding parts in all the figures.

This invention consists in a frame arranged in rear of a suitable axle, and supported by a easter-wheel, in combination with bearings provided at the real-most end of the aforesaid frame, for the reception of the head of the rake, or ofthe rotating tedder, as may be desired, whereby the said rake or tedder is enabled to conformi to inequalities in the surface ofthe ground, thus securing a ve'ry efficient operation of the same, either in raking or tedding, as the case may be.`

To enable others to understand the construction and operation of my invention, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

The axle A is supported by two wheels B, upon the outer side of each of which is formed or secured a hand-pulley, a. The horizontal frame C is situated behind the axle, and attached or hinged thereto by straps b. This frame is provided at its central part, or, if desired, toward its rear end,with a supporting caster-wheel, c, which turns freely upon a vertical arbor, a. The driver's -seat is shown at D, behind the thills E, and in convenient proximity to this seat is an upright lever, LZ, the lower end of which is attached to a transverse rockshaft, e, which is furnished near the centre thereof` with a band-wheei or disk, f. The bearings which receive the head of the rake or tedder, as hereinafter fully set forth', are situated at the rear end ofthe frame C, one at leach side thereof, and are cach formed of two straps or plates, g t, the outermost or rear ends of which are made of semi'circular form, so as to constitute together a circular box or bearing fdr the cylindrical portion t' of the rake or tedder-head, as presently herein set forth. The lowermost plate or stra-p, g, of each bearing, is rigidly fixed to the frame C,`but the uppermost one is attached thereto only at .its forward extremity,-a s shown at Zi', and is made elastic in such manner that, when desired, it may be forced or sprung upward, to permit the removal or insertion, as the case may be, of the rake or tedder-hcad, and is held down upon the lower strap g by a sliding band or collar, m, which is forced back against the curved or semicircular portions of the straps, as shown in theseveralV gures. lWhen the rake, the head ofwhich is marked o* in the drawings, is pivoted in the bearings g t, as shown in iig. I, and hereinbefore explained, an endless band, 1t, is passed from the band-wheelj` over a smaller pulley or wheel, s, formed upon thc rake-head, so that by simply pushing forward the lever d, the rake will be raised or tilted upward, to deposit the 4grass or hay at intervals during the raking operation. When it is desired to use the machine for tedding, the rake is removed by first slipping the bands or collars m forward, clear of the straps g, and springing the said straps upward, as hereinbefore set forth,

i and is replaced by the tedder, the head of which is marked bi in the drawings, and has fitted upon each end "thereof a band-pulley, 7'. These band-pulleys r are connected by belts s/ with the band-pullcy a ofthe driving v or supporting-wheels, so that the forward movement of the machine communicates to the tedder the rotary motion required in tedding or spreading the hay or grass. Inasmuch as the frame C is hinged or pivoted to the axle, and is supported by the caster-wheel C, it follows that the said frame is allowed to-rise and fall with the inequalities ofthe ground, and thus retain the rake or tedder, according as one or the other is employed, in proper position with reference to the aforesaid surface ofthe ground, thus insuring the most eiiicient operation of the machine.

`What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The frame C, arranged in rear ofthe axle A, and supported-by the easter-wheel e, in combination with the bearings yl t and the head of a rake or Vtedder,.substantially as and for the purpose specified. Y

CHARLES ROGERS. Witnesses:

J. WJ Coeurs, G. W. REED. 

